US 11,810,294 B2
Ultrasound imaging system and method for detecting acoustic shadowing
Krishna Seetharam Shriram, Bangalore (IN); Chandan Kumar Aladahalli, Bangalore (IN); and Vikram Melapudi, Bangalore (IN)
Assigned to GE Precision Healthcare LLC, Wauwatosa, WI (US)
Filed by GE Precision Healthcare LLC, Wauwatosa, WI (US)
Filed on Mar. 26, 2021, as Appl. No. 17/214,026.
Prior Publication US 2022/0309649 A1, Sep. 29, 2022
Int. Cl. G06T 7/00 (2017.01); A61B 8/00 (2006.01); A61B 8/08 (2006.01); G06F 3/14 (2006.01); G06N 3/08 (2023.01); G06T 7/11 (2017.01)
CPC G06T 7/0012 (2013.01) [A61B 8/4444 (2013.01); A61B 8/463 (2013.01); A61B 8/5207 (2013.01); G06F 3/14 (2013.01); G06N 3/08 (2013.01); G06T 7/11 (2017.01); G06T 2207/10132 (2013.01); G06T 2207/20021 (2013.01); G06T 2207/20084 (2013.01)] 14 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method comprising:
acquiring, with an ultrasound probe, ultrasound data along a plurality of receive lines, wherein the ultrasound probe is one of a curved linear array probe or a curved phased array probe;
generating an ultrasound image based on the ultrasound data;
dividing, with a processor, the ultrasound image into a plurality of subregions, where each of the plurality of subregions extends from a top of the ultrasound image to a bottom of the ultrasound image and corresponds to an adjacent subset of the plurality of receive lines, wherein each the plurality of subregions has an angle of less than 15 degrees;
individually analyzing, with the processor, each of the plurality of subregions for acoustic shadowing;
detecting, with the processor, acoustic shadowing in one or more of the plurality of subregions;
displaying the ultrasound image on a display device; and
graphically indicating the one or more of the plurality of subregions in which the acoustic shadowing was detected on the ultrasound image while the ultrasound image is displayed on the display device.